


Forever is not enough

by 411Charlee



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Tumblr, Tumblr Prompts, Tumblr drabbles, tumblr one shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-22
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-04-22 21:25:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 18,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4851044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/411Charlee/pseuds/411Charlee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the home of my Tumblr one shots and prompts.<br/>Dedicated to Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak - the OTP that took over my life - OLICITY!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I love you a lot, but please stop cooking me dinner, you suck!

For the last few months they explored different countries. It was incredible to be free and just be. Oliver walks back from the small kiosk situated on the cliff where he got them each a bottle of water to ensure they stay hydrated in the summer sun. 

Walking back to her he couldn’t help but stop and admire the view. Yes, they were on the Amalfi Coast and the view of the ocean and the houses on the side of the mountain with the clear blue sky looked picturesque, but the fact that she was standing there leaning against the rail overlooking the cliff just made this view more spectacular. Her blonde hair blows in the wind and her bright sundress makes everything around her look dull. 

He can’t believe that he is here – not in Italy exactly, but that emotionally he feels whole. He feels like a kid on Christmas morning, giddy with joy waiting to open his presents. Nothing on earth can compare to the feeling of being loved by this vision, his Felicity.

They had decided to keep a low profile where social media was concerned. Since Felicity taught Diggle the basics when they were still on the team, anyone from home could ping their phones or Felicity’s laptop. This is their time as they discover who they are as a couple and Oliver learning to be who he really is. 

He stands there staring at this blonde beauty and the desire hits him to do something special for her. He decides to make an exception to his “no boat” policy, because he saw how she looked at the boats sailing on the Mediterranean and wants to give her that experience, even though he is terrified of boats. So seeing that he already made an exception to one rule he decides to use Felicity’s laptop and book a boat ride for them at sunset. He wants to surprise her after all and walking up to the Tourist shop would just give it away.

Later the day when they get back to their hotel room, Felicity takes a shower to get the stickiness of the humidity off her skin. Oliver takes this as the perfect opportunity and quickly unpacks her laptop to get the surprise in order. The only problem with this plan is that he hasn’t touched a computer in almost 3 years. Since Felicity became part of the team and then his executive assistant, she did everything on the computer, leaving the combat and strategising to him. He feels like an old man learning how to put a computer on for the first time.

It can’t be that difficult to book tickets, can it? He thinks to himself. Before he knows it he has so many tabs open at once and not one even remotely near to what he wants to do. He feels her eyes on him and knows she is staring at him while leaning against the wall, arms folded ready to ask what the hell he is doing.

He looks up with a shy grin and starts explaining his plan to her and that it seems he is too rusty to even book some tickets. Felicity just laughs at him as she approached his on the couch. She gently kisses him on his forehead and takes over from there.

“Oliver, honey?” She starts, “I love you a lot, but please don’t ever try and use the internet again, you suck.”

He lifts his hands in surrender and retreats to the shower to get ready for their big date.

xxxxx

They finally decide to settle down and get themselves this cozy house in one of the suburbs of Coast City. 

The fact that he was enjoying waking up to Felicity every morning, in their house, doing normal things like grocery shopping and mowing the lawn was a sign that he was fully and completely committed to this woman. Something he never knew he would be. Usually by this time the old Oliver would already be planning his escape or target the first and best girl that was willing to give herself to him, so he could mess up and not deal with his commitment issues.

Felicity took the part of being a “housewife” very seriously and cooked a homemade dinner for them almost every night. Just like him, she enjoyed being in this bubble where it was just them.

Felicity wasn’t exactly the best cook, but Oliver didn’t want to disappoint her by saying anything, since she tried so hard. He had had worst in the five years he was away, so trying to like something for the sake of putting a smile on her face was worth it.

They had gotten into a routine very quickly. He laid the table and Felicity cooked. While he pours them each a glass of wine, Felicity appears with a giant casserole dish and puts it in the center of the table.

“Mmmm, smells good.” He says, giving her a smile and immediately igniting a smile back from her.

“I really hope you’re going to like this. It’s chicken pie. I found the recipe in one of my recipe books.” She replies excited.

They both sit down and Felicity dishes a very generous portion for Oliver, who just smiles at the watery substance in his plate with floating mushrooms. The chicken pie looks more like chicken soup, but it’s made with love.

He takes his first bite and immediately has to reach for his glass of wine. It tastes like she added a whole bag of salt into that pie. His tongue feels numb and his throat is on fire. He feels like he just drank a gallon of sea water as the pie makes its way down to his stomach.

Felicity instantaneously looks worried. “Oliver, are you okay?”

In between coughs he tries to reply, “Have you tasted the pie?”

“Yes, I know it’s a bit salty.”

“Salty?” He asks calmly. “Sweetheart, salty is an understatement.” He coughs again taking another gulp of his wine.

He finally manages to breathe without the stinging sensation in this throat and moves over to her side of the table. He kisses her gently on the mouth before going down on his haunches, taking both her hands into his.

“Honey, you know I love you right?” She nods. “Please don’t ever cook me dinner again, you suck.”

He prepares himself for an outburst of tears or her loud voice making an appearance but instead she starts to laugh. She laughs so much she almost becomes hysterical with laughter, leaving Oliver completely at a loss for words.

“Thank you for finally being honest. It took you quite a long time, but I’m glad you finally admitted this to me.”

“So you knew you were bad at cooking and you carried on?”

“Well, in my defense I thought I was going to get better at it the more I cooked, but by the looks of it…..that’s a fantasy.”

Oliver huffs a chuckle before he kisses her again.

“So I think it’s safe to say, I’ll stay out of the kitchen from now on. Deal?” She stands up from her chair extending her hand so they can shake on it.

“Deal.” Oliver says as he takes her hand and in the same instance throws her over his shoulder. 

“Oliver !” She shouts out in laughter. “What are you doing?!”

“This is me being thankful that I don’t have to eat that chicken pie.”

“You can be such a cave man sometimes you know?”

“Yeah I know, but you like it.”

She keeps on laughing all the way into their bedroom.


	2. I wasn't planning on asking you , but it appeared to me that life is short.  Will you marry me?

“Oliver watch out!” Diggle shouts over the comms.

“John?! Oliver?!” Felicity screams but there is no answer.

She presses her earpiece deeper into her ear for any possible sound, but all she hears is her own erratic breathing as she furiously types away on her keyboard to get some kind of signal, but there’s nothing but complete silence. Their tracker signals are gone and she can’t even ping their phones. There’s nothing.

She thinks of getting a hold of Laurel and Thea but they had two different locations planned for tonight, so that would be a complete waste of time.

It’s cold in the lair and she can feel her body temperature falling rapidly. The shock of the sound of Diggle’s voice and not knowing what’s going on is causing her to hyperventilate.

She decides to get the blood flowing in her body and moves toward the now empty dummy that usually holds Oliver’s suit. She stares at it for a while and smiles. There was a time that she never thought that they would be at this place in their lives. When they came back to Star City there was some form of doubt in her mind that Oliver would be able to go back to being a hero and continue their relationship, but they made it work. The Oliver that was now her partner in every possible sense of the word was the man she always knew he could be – the man that she believed in when no one else did – the man she loves – and now he’s out there somewhere and she doesn’t know if he’s hurt or even still alive.

She’s just about to break into tears when there’s a distortion sound on the other side of her earpiece. 

“Felicity? Felicity can you hear me? Felicity come in, Felicity?” she hears Diggle’s voice come through.

“John? I’m here? Are you guys okay? Where’s Oliver?” she asks all at the same time trying not to let her panic state take over.

“Felicity, it’s bad. He’s hurt. He was shot and you know we can’t take him to the hospital, there will be too many questions.”

Felicity tries to breathe and hold back the tears stinging at the back of her eyes.

“I’m bringing him to the lair. Please prep everything.” he orders and then pauses, “Felicity, I don’t want to scare you, but you need to be prepared. This is worse than when his mother shot him.”

She nods and then realises he can’t see her. “O….okay. Everything will be ready when you get here.” She almost whispers and then disconnects the call.

Her breath hitches as she sits down on her chair behind her desk. The world is spinning and her mouth is dry. The worst part of being in a relationship with Oliver, doing what they do is the fact that he could get hurt at any time, but this was the furthest thing from her mind when she woke up in his arms that morning.

She takes a breath to compose herself and then adrenaline kicks in, just like the night she found him in her car after he got shot by his mother. She preps everything and after what feels like seconds Diggle arrives marching to the med table with an unconscious Oliver draped over his shoulder.

When Diggle puts him on the table there’s so much blood, she starts to feel dizzy again, but when Diggle grasps her hand and looks her straight in the eye she knows she’ll have to keep it together – not for herself but for the man she loves. She needs to focus on Oliver…need to save him now.

The two bullets luckily missed major organs but were still very close to his heart and right lung. They manage to stabilise him and for the first time they both breathe a sigh of relief.

After what feels like hours, Felicity sends Diggle home with a promise that she will call the moment there’s any change. He reluctantly agrees, knowing that she needs this time alone with Oliver, and goes home.

The moment Diggle is out the door Felicity breaks. The built up tears start streaming over her face and every possible emotion that was suppressed from the moment she found out he was hurt to the point where she didn’t know whether or not John would be able to save him, flows out of her like a burst dam.

“I can’t lose you Oliver.” She sobs. “Please don’t leave me….you need to wake up.”

She gently strokes the back of his hand with her thumb, which calms her down. His touch has always had that effect on her. When she would ramble or feel overwhelmed, just the feeling of his hand on her shoulder was enough to bring her back to her senses and she would know everything was going to be okay.

“You know….I know what you hid in that soufflé the night Thea and Laurel came to our house to ask you to come back.” She smiled. “I guess all this time that I’ve spent with you I’ve learned a few of your tricks….like picking up small detail that no one else pays attention to….and you also could never successfully lie to me.” She giggles.

“Just for the record…I would have said yes.” She kisses the back of his hand and rests her head carefully on the side of the table and drifts off to sleep.

She doesn’t know how long she’s been asleep but wakes up to familiar fingers gently stroking her cheek. When she realises he’s awake she immediately goes into nurse mode.

“Are you okay? Do you need anything? Do you want to sit up?” she starts rambling igniting a chuckle from the injured patient in front of her.

“Felicity,” he says softly. “You are so beautiful.”

After all this time they’ve been together she still can’t stop blushing when he says stuff like that. The blush creeps up from her neck and nestles itself on her cheeks that he softly caresses again with his thumb.

“I was so scared Oliver. I thought I was going to lose you.” She says placing her hand over his on her cheek.

“I know, I’m so sorry. It was an ambush. I didn’t realise they were there until John shouted my name, and then it was too late. But I’m okay now. I’ve survived worse and Felicity….nothing is going to stop me from getting back to you. You must know I will always try, I will always fight to come back to you.” Silent tears fall over her cheeks again and he catches them with his thumb. 

She helps him to sit up and she carefully sits next to him on the table. He takes both her hands in his and looks deep into her eyes.

“Is something wrong? Do you want me to get something for you?” she asks worried.

“No….as a matter of fact everything is right.” He smiles. “Felicity, I love you and if tonight taught me one thing it is that life is short and there are no guarantees. Since you already know what I planned to do on our date, it will come as no surprise that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to grow old with you and I want to have a family with you. There’s nothing life can throw our way as long as we have each other and we face it together. So Felicity, I wasn’t planning on asking you now and heaven knows you deserve an amazing proposal, but I can’t keep this in any longer….Felicity Megan Smoak, will you marry me?”

If she didn’t have ears her smile probably would go right around her head. She leans in and kisses him hard on the lips and when she finally breaks away her eyes sparkle like a thousand diamonds.

“Yes Oliver! Yes a thousand times yes! I will marry you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hi on Tumblr:  
> charlinert.tumblr.com


	3. May I have this dance?

Twinkling lights, fresh night air and the promise of a future filled with love and joy. 

When they decided to get married, Felicity suggested doing the ceremony in the garden of the burned down Queen Mansion. They both knew that it would be tricky, but with him being the new Mayor of Star City they were able to buy back the land. Obviously they knew that they wouldn’t be able to have the Mansion back to its full glory in time for the wedding, but the gardens were still intact which was surprising after the fire and despite the excessive damage, they could rebuilt the ball room in time for them to host the reception in it.

He initially thought she was crazy to add so much more pressure to their already hectic schedule, but later realised that she made the suggestion more for his sake than hers. She knew that even though he had conflicting feelings towards his parents, getting married where he grew up would have it feel like his parents were there with him on their special day.

He has always shied away from showing his true emotions, but being with Felicity taught him to open up a bit more. Even though today can easily be constituted as one of the best days of his life (if not the best) he is completely overwhelmed by everything going on and decides to take a walk in the garden to take a breath, away from the crowd.

He hands Diggle a small piece of paper for Felicity and makes his way toward the gazebo in the garden where a few moments ago they were declared husband and wife. He sits down on one of the cement benches on the side of the gazebo. Little Sara’s flower petals on the ground catches his attention.

“Oliver, you have shown me what it means to be strong. You have unmasked strength inside me that I never knew I had until I met you. You’re my anchor and I promise to always be your light. I can’t wait to start this new journey with you….our future together. You make me happier than I ever thought I could be. I love you.”

The tears are stinging at the back of his eyes thinking back to their vows as he picks up one of the petals off the ground.

“Felicity,” he starts and struggles to get the words out. He takes a deep breath and tries again. “Felicity, I have no words to describe how you make me feel. You have shown me what it’s like to be truly happy....to not be afraid to be me. You see past my fears and my failures and I want you to know that I love you with my whole being. I promise to always protect you, to be someone you can rely on. Today I promise you that I will always be committed to you and you alone until the day I breathe my last breath. You are everything to me Felicity. I love you.”

“What are you thinking about over there?” He smiles when he hears a familiar sound behind him interrupting his thoughts.

“You.” He says softly as he drags her closer to sit on his lap.

“Good answer Mr Queen.” She jokes and kisses him softly on his lips. “Something wrong?” She looks at him intently with her sparkly blue eyes momentarily being replaced with worry.

“Hey, no, nothing’s wrong.” He smiles and strokes her cheek with the back of his hand causing her to close her eyes at his touch. “I have something to show you.” He says changing the tone of his voice so she knows he’s okay.

“Really?” she answers exited.

He smiles as he leads her outside the gazebo onto the lawn. “Stay here, I’ll be right back”. He kisses her on the cheek, smirking at the curios confusion displayed on her face.

Within seconds he pushes a telescope on a trolley to where she’s waiting for him and unloads it on the lawn. Still confused she silently looks on as he sets everything up.

“We’re going old school tonight I see, if that thing had Wi-Fi I could have had it up and running by now.” She jokes, receiving an annoyed stare from her husband, “Don’t spoil the moment honey.” desperately trying to get the focus settings right.

“Okay, all set.” He finally says. “This...” indicating to the telescope, “is your present.”

“Oliver, honey, I don’t remember us registering for a telescope, did we?” she jokes again coming closer kissing him on the cheek when he rolls his eyes at her.

“Well….this isn’t really just for you….”he explains, “it’s for us….let’s say it’s a commemoration of our wedding day and something that will always remind us of how we felt at this exact moment.”

“Oooh Mr Queen, quite the romantic are we?” She jokes again at least this time receiving a huffed chuckle. “Okay, so what is it?”

“Before I show you, I want to tell you a story first…” He gently takes both her hands in his and kisses the ring on her left hand before continuing. “…after our first time together in Nanda Parbat you found me looking at the sky on the balcony.”

“Yes, before I drugged you.” Felicity blushes at the thought.

He laughs at her words, “Yes Felicity, before you drugged me.” Giving her hand a squeeze. “Anyway,” he continues. “That night there was a star shining so brightly and I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It reminded me of you and even though I knew what was waiting for me, I was so happy to be with you at that moment….After I survived my excessive torture and training I used to stand on that balcony every time I had the chance. That same star was in the sky and for some reason it soothed the burden of what I was doing and planning, even if it was just a little.” 

She gives him his space when she sees how hard it still is for him to talk about that time.

“I would stand and wonder if you were looking up at the sky and even though I knew it was unlikely, in my mind I pictured you staring at the exact same star. That even though we were so far apart and you thought I had changed, that star would connect our hearts at that moment because we were both staring at it.”

“After I had to lock you in that dungeon and see the look of fear and disappointment on your face I went back to that balcony and stared at that star again. I knew then that I had to sacrifice myself and die, to make sure that you and everyone else could be safe. I so wanted one last chance to tell you how much I loved you and just hold you, but I couldn’t. So I stared what felt like forever and hoped that when you were awake and safe, that you would be able to forgive me and trust in my feelings for you.”

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she listened to the raw emotion being spilled from his heart.

“I know it sounds really corny, but that star kept me sane. The thought of you is all that got me through that time.”

“Oh wow Oliver, you never told me this.” She says softly, trying to keep the serenity of the mood.

“When we came back to Star City I realised that our lives will always have some form of tragedy, but as long as we have each other, no matter where on earth we are, we’ll be fine. So basically when I thought about what to get you as a wedding gift I didn’t have to think too hard.” He lets go of her hands, takes out a sealed envelope from his suit jacket pocket and hands it to her.

She opens the envelope and takes out the content. At first she’s confused, but then the information on the piece of paper makes sense.

“You named a star?” She asks amazed as the information sinks in.

He can barely hold his excitement and nods his head, when she immediately moves in for a hug. He picks her up and twirls her in the air as she cries out from excitement.

“Oh Oliver, this is amazing!”

“Well, the only thing I had a bit of trouble with was the name. I wanted to name it ‘Felicity’, but I thought that even though I love your name, it would be better to name it something that’s a bit more sentimental to the both of us….”

“…like ‘red’.” She interrupts. “It’s perfect!”  
He can’t stop smiling at her. He knew this would make the best gift ever.

“So can we look at our star?” She asks turning toward the telescope.

“Sure, that’s why I brought this. The coordinates are on the certificate if you want to use your Wi-Fi settings later, but it’s been set up, so look away Mrs. Queen.”

She rolls her eyes at him and moves closer to the telescope to see their star for the first time.

“Oh Oliver, it’s beautiful! This is the most incredible thing anyone has ever done. I love you so much!” She says hugging him again with this smile still very much intact.

They stay like that for a moment until she can hear the orchestra playing a familiar song. She breaks contact and looks him in his eyes.

“I know you have an ‘I don’t dance’ policy, but would you mind breaking that rule tonight? I would really love to dance with my husband on our wedding day.”

He bends down placing a kiss on her lips and extends an open hand toward her. “May I have this dance Mrs. Queen?”

She smiles and places her hand in his, “You certainly may Mr Queen.” as he pulls her closer to him swaying to the music.

“Not bad.” She says jokingly.

“It’s not that I can’t dance.”

“Okay, so why don’t you dance then?”

“It’s because I haven’t found the right partner.”

“Oh.” She says her lips staying in her usual ‘O’ position when reality dawns on her.

“Felicity?” He asks softly.

“Mmmhmm?”

“I wanna dance all my dances with you.”

She leaves his shoulder to look at him again and softly kisses him on the lips as ‘red’ twinkles away while the star-crossed lovers dance in celebration of a love literally written in the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think?  
> Your comments and kudos are like air :)
> 
> Come say hi on Tumblr  
> charlinert.tumblr.com


	4. Do you think it might be possible that I...might be...pregnant?

Being married was one thing, but having a family with their hectic schedules was somewhere near impossible. This was the main reason they decided to wait to start having children. 

They got married not long after they got together and with Felicity now running Queen Incorporated and Oliver being the Mayor of Star City by day and not to mention their nightly activities it left very little room for them to be married. There would be days that they barely had time to be alone except for sharing a bed and commuting to and from work. It was a mutual agreement that bringing a baby into their already high stressed lives was not be the best idea at that time.

After three years of waiting Oliver knew that Felicity had become a bit more broody. This became even worse after little Andy Diggle was born. When they visited the Diggle’s in the hospital and Felicity held the baby in her arms, she just had to give Oliver one look and he knew that his wife was not willing to wait any longer.

That evening they decided that they were going to try to get pregnant and start a family. Oliver was worried that this would cause extra stress on Felicity, since all her internet research made her completely paranoid about infertility and problems women of her age faced to fall pregnant.

More than a year later they were still not pregnant and just as Oliver had suspected this caused an enormous amount of stress on Felicity, which put a lot of stress on their marriage. Irritation levels ran high and tension in the lair and home could be cut with a knife between the two of them. Oliver was tired of putting a time and date stamp on everything; their love life was planned around ovulation charts, extra supplements had to be taken on certain days of Felicity’s menstrual cycle, pregnancy tests and the constant obsession of his wife and internet pregnancy forums. Getting pregnant had now taken over their lives in a way that being the Green Arrow never could.

They were on their way back from the lair and an uncomfortable silence was hanging in the car. They were both irritable, but Felicity’s mood swings had gotten worse the last couple of weeks. She would rant over the simplest things and most of the time, to keep the peace he would just keep quiet, but tonight was a whole other ball game. Tonight he couldn’t take it anymore. Felicity had exploded again about something as trivial as toilet paper and he immediately retaliated. It was like a war zone between the two of them while the rest of the team could only look on in horror at the awful display. At one point it got so heated that Oliver decided to leave and wait for her in the car. No one said a word, but both knew they had crossed a very dangerous line.

They finally reached home and Felicity immediately made her way to the bathroom, locking herself inside. Oliver knew she needed space to calm down, but it didn’t lessen the worry that was building inside his heart. He knew they would have to talk about the situation sooner or later and he would prefer sooner since their situation was now affecting everyone on the team too.

After a while Felicity slowly made her way to her side of the bed, while Oliver pretended to read something on her tablet. She got in and made herself comfortable and breathed a heavy sigh. Oliver took this as a clear sign that she wanted to talk and grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Even though the tension was high he couldn’t help but smile at her. She was still extremely adorable when she ‘tried’ to be subtle. He placed the tablet on the nightstand and turned towards Felicity staring straight ahead into nothingness with an intense frown on her forehead.

“Felicity, I’m sorry.”

She sighed again as she turned to look at him with obvious tears forming in her eyes.

“No Oliver, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just…”

He gently stroked her cheek catching the falling tears with his thumb.

“I know.”

“I feel awful about what happened tonight. I can’t believe I lost it. I’m usually the one that tries to keep you guys in line and I lost it tonight Oliver, I completely lost it.”

He drew her closer to him to hold and comfort her as she sobbed, tears streamed down her face. He could hear in the sound of her voice that it was raw emotion and his heart broke for his wife. After he felt that she had calmed down a bit, he loosened his hold looking at her again.

“Maybe we should take a break from this pregnancy thing for a bit?” She looked down and didn’t answer. He immediately knew what she was thinking. “Hey, look at me.” He lifted her chin with his finger so she could look at him. “It’s not that I don’t want children Felicity, it’s that the not getting pregnant part is starting to cause unwanted stress. I don’t want to fight with you all the time. I want us back, I want my wife back. My bubbly, joyous, babbling, beautiful wife.”

“I’m sorry.” She whispers.

“For what?”

“For not being able to give you a child. I feel like a failure. I feel like I failed you, like I failed us.”  
“Felicity,” He cupped her face with both of his hands. “The night Sara was born and I saw you in the hospital room, right before I told you that I couldn’t be with you, was the night that I realised that I wanted what John had.”

“Yes, children.”

“Yes Felicity that too, but what I saw that night and what I wanted with my whole heart was a family. When I came back from the island and so long after that I never believed that I would be able to have that, but Felicity when we got together, you gave me hope. You have given me a chance to have that, to have a family and be happy. You haven’t failed me.”

“But a family has children.”

“Maybe in the traditional sense yes, but honey you’re my family, you’re my home. I’m not saying that I don’t want children, I’m saying that even if I don’t have children, having you is all the family I need. I am content with you in my life…..I’m happy. You, Felicity, you make me happy….and even if we never have children I’ll still be happy because I have you.”

“Really?”

He placed a gentle kiss against her forehead. “Really.”

She sighed again, but this time it was relief as she fell asleep on his chest.

A few days later Felicity started to complain about terrible headaches and dizzy spells. Oliver was immediately concerned when the symptoms continued for more than a week. He pleaded with her to make an appointment at their doctor and after much discussion she finally gave in to his request to go. She decided to go alone when the doctor could only help her in a time that both Oliver and Diggle were otherwise occupied. They had written the symptoms off to severe stress, but Oliver wanted to make sure that Felicity was okay and thought that maybe if a doctor told her to take it easy, the chances were much more likely that she would listen to the doctor than to him.

The doctor did all the routine checks and then started asking a few routine questions. 

“Mrs. Queen, when was your last menstrual cycle?”

Felicity thought for a moment and when she couldn’t give the doctor an exact date, she took out her tablet to get the information off her ovulation chart. She opened the chart and gasped.

“Mrs. Queen is everything alright?” the doctor asked worried when Felicity looked like she saw a ghost and went so pale she looked like something from izombie.

“I….uhm….I haven’t had my period yet. I’m two weeks late.” She said still staring at the tablet.

“Mrs. Queen, did you give the receptionist a urine sample when you came in?”

“Yes….yes, I did.”

“Alright then Mrs. Queen. Would you mind if I did a few additional tests? I promise it won’t take long and you can wait right here if you want.”

“Yes, sure doctor.”

The doctor nodded and got up, moving toward the door.

“Uhm, Dr. Anderson?” she said rattled.

“Yes, Mrs. Queen?”

“Do you think it’s possible that I….might be….pregnant?”

“Yes, Mrs. Queen it is possible, but we need to do some more tests, since those symptoms are not just pregnancy symptoms. I will be back in a moment.”

She sat in the room what felt like an eternity when Dr Anderson finally came back in. He didn’t look at her and his face was stoic, she couldn’t read him and it made her scared for what was about to come.

“Doctor? Is everything okay?”

“Mrs. Queen, it seems that your symptoms are as a result of gestation.”

“Gestation? Dr Anderson, are you saying….?”

“Yes Mrs. Queen, you are pregnant. And by the looks of it, you are about six weeks. I would suggest you make an appointment with your gynecologist as soon as you can. Congratulations.”

“Thank you doctor, thank you so much.”

When she finally made it back to her car she couldn’t fight the tears anymore. For the first time in so long the tears falling were tears of joy instead of frustration and disappointment. She knew she wanted to announce it to Oliver in a special way and immediately put her plan into action.

‘Feel like a quiet night at home with my sexy husband. I picked up some Italian for dinner. Please don’t be late. xx’ She texted him.

‘Sounds perfect. Can’t wait to spend some quality time with you. xo’ 

Just as he promised he was on time. He walked through the door, but wasn’t prepared for what he found: The whole house was filled with candles and rose petals on the floor formed a path that led straight to their bedroom. On their bed was a yellow and green onesie with ‘World’s Greatest Dad’ printed on the front.

Oliver stopped dead in his tracks and tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He remembered to start breathing again when he felt Felicity wrap her arms around his waist from behind. He squeezed her hands with his as he pulled her to his front and saw her eyes, wet with unshed tears.

“Felicity….” He cupped her face again looking deep into her eyes.

“We’re going to have a baby.” She almost whispered as she took Oliver’s hand and placed it on her flat stomach. He breathed deeply as tears started falling from his face.

“Do you know how much I love you?” he whispered back with a huge grin on his face. 

He kissed her so tenderly on the lips as their tears softly mingled, falling together in celebration of a new life, their little baby – the celebration of their love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think?  
> Your comments and kudos are like air :)
> 
> Come say hi on Tumblr  
> charlinert.tumblr.com


	5. You need to know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anonymous asked:  
> I was doing a re-watch of 3x07 and Oliver's face when he sees Felicity kiss Palmer is so heartbreaking every time. Could you please write something maybe what would have happened if he arrived at the office before Palmer gets to the office?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This alternate ending has been done already and even though there was so much angst in season 3 I think Oliver needed to see that kiss (my personal opinion - not that it didn’t hurt though.)
> 
> So here is my take on how it could have ended if Oliver didn’t have the identity crisis thing going on and he was at a place where he was after Nanda Parbat.  
> Hope you like it xxx

He gets off the elevator at the executive floor where his office once was and hears Felicity’s voice. His stomach turns and he can actually feel the knots forming as he moves closer to his….her office. Palmer is with her.

He has a choice to make. He can leave or he can for once just do what his heart wants and make his move while he still can. He knows Diggle is right. If tonight taught him anything it’s that his jealousy of Ray Palmer and Felicity together is more of a distraction than being with her. He has to tell her how he really feels and he has to do it tonight. What happens after that will be entirely up to her, but he has to do it now before it’s too late.

He walks toward the office door and gently knocks, startling Felicity who abruptly takes a step back from Ray.

“I’m sorry to interrupt.” He says softly inspecting the body language of the other two people in the room.

“Not at all. I was just leaving.” Ray answers and turns back to Felicity. “Necklace?”

“Oh yes of course….necklace.” Felicity turns around so Ray can loosen the clip, swallowing thickly when she turns back around. “See you tomorrow.” She smiles weakly.

“Yeah.” Ray returns the smile and walks toward Oliver standing in the door.

“It was nice seeing you again Mr Palmer.” Oliver extends his hand and Ray takes it, shaking back.

“Yes, like wise. Have a good evening.” Ray greets and leaves the office.

Felicity makes herself comfortable behind her desk once more as Oliver waits for the elevator door to close. She tries to ignore the blatant stare coming from the office door by busying herself with signing the documents in front of her.

“Nice office.” He finally breaks the silence, but she doesn’t look up from signing the documents.

“You should know.” 

“I’m sorry we ruined your dinner.”

“Not we Oliver, you and you didn’t ruin the dinner, Ray managed to clinch the deal with Mr Gardner.”

“Good.” He says softly standing with both his hands buried deep in his pants pockets staring at the floor. “He probably wouldn’t have been able to do it without you though, you always ha…..”

“Oliver, why are you here?” she interrupted him

“Well, I just…”

“You just what Oliver? I’m sure it’s not to make small talk. So if you could please get to the point I would like to finish my work and go home. It’s really been a long day.”

“Diggle might have mentioned that you were upset after tonight’s mission.”

“Well as you can see I’m fine, you can go now.”

“You don’t seem fine.” He carefully added.

She scoffed and carefully put down her pen to look at him taking a deep breath.

“Oliver, what would you like me to say right now? What would be the right response to get you to walk out the door and leave me alone?”

“I just wanted to make sure that you were okay and not angry with me for dragging you away from your dinner tonight, but it seems that angry might have been an understatement when I tried to picture this scenario in my head.”

“Angry? You think I’m angry? Sure Oliver, I’m angry okay. I’m angry at myself for letting my thoughts run away with me thinking there was a hint of jealousy when I asked you if I could have the night off. I’m angry that I allowed myself to be pulled into your conversation with that phycho woman who wanted to kill you tonight and lose all sense of professionalism. I’m angry that I can’t seem to bring myself to fall out of love with you even when you’ve given me every possible reason to do just that for the last two years and move on and now I’m even more angry at myself for even saying this out loud because apparently my brain to mouth filter gets worse when I’m around you. So yes Oliver, angry might be an understatement.”

“Felicity….”

“No Oliver, please….I just need to not be around you right now.” 

“You’re right.”

“Thank you.”

“Not about me leaving.”

She gave a deep sigh and crossed her arms leaning on her desk, giving him a questioning look.

“After my little speech with Carrie Cutter I realised something. The night at the hospital when I told you that I couldn’t be with you wasn’t just about me being the Arrow. Ever since I came back from the island I knew that having a life outside being the Arrow was a risk to everyone involved. I knew that if my enemies ever had to find out my identity that it would paint a huge target on everyone I loved. And it did. Slade killed my mother and he was hell bent on killing the woman I love.”

When she doesn’t say anything he knows exactly why. 

“Felicity, the only reason I used you to target Slade was because I knew he would see right through me if it were someone else. I meant every single word I said to you that night in the mansion. You need to know, you’re it for me. I love you….I’m irrevocably, head over heels in love with you Felicity.”

Her eyes widen at hearing the admission for the first time, without any agendas, without any turning of words.

“When I saw you lying on that floor of the restaurant after the explosion, the only thing that kept going through my mind was that I couldn’t lose you too. I would rather live in a world where I was alone than ever lose you…..until tonight….I came back to the foundry and you were gone. There was a hole in my heart, because I knew I screwed up again, I knew I broke your heart again and it killed me to know that there was the slightest possibility that you would find comfort with someone else that wasn’t me.”

“Okay, so what you’re saying is that if you don’t want me, you’ll make sure no one else can either.”

His face changes and complete shock is displayed all over his features. “How could you even think that? All I ever wanted for you is to be happy.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. That came out meaner than what it was intended to, but Oliver I was there remember? I’ve been there for the past two years. I know the risks involved. But all of this….it remains my choice. You don’t get to decide for me Oliver.”

“Yes, I know that Felicity, but you can’t blame me for trying to protect you. I told you when you got involved with us that I would protect you and that’s always been my instinct when it comes to you. I don’t know what I’ll do if I had to lose you….but I know that if I don’t give this….us a try I will never know what it would feel like to be whole.”

“Oliver….what are you saying?”

He moves closer to her and takes both her hands.

“I’m saying that I was wrong and I’m sorry for being such a huge idiot. I’m sorry for breaking your heart and making you cry…..but if you are willing….I really want to give us a shot. I don’t want to run away from what I’m feeling anymore. You mess with my head Felicity Smoak, you’re like a drug I simply can’t get enough of and I don’t think I can stay away from you anymore.”

She doesn’t answer, instead she stands on the tips of her toes and kisses him. All the longing and the hoping is poured out in that one kiss making her dizzy. He steadies her by cupping her cheeks just like the night in the hospital, only this time it doesn’t end in heartbreak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think?  
> Your comments and kudos are like air :)
> 
> Come say hi on Tumblr  
> charlinert.tumblr.com


	6. Before it's too late (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Oliver proposes to Felicity over Coms at a dire time because he fears it will be the only chance he gets (Diggle, Laurel, and/or Thea are back at the lair watching anxiously for Felicity to say an answer)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone enjoyed the premiere! I'm still on a high!  
> Best season premiere ever!

He didn’t want to come back – he didn’t want this in his life anymore, but there was one thing that he needed more than just a normal life and that was Felicity. Ever since he made the choice of having her, being with her he never wanted to let that feeling go – ever.

There were four possible locations and even though they hated splitting the group up, they had no other choice. His heat signature device showed not traces of life inside the warehouse but chasing after the ghosts and Damien Dhark the last couple of months taught him that nothing was ever what it seemed. He searched every possible crevice and all he could find was a big fat nothing. He was ready to make his way back to his bike when he heard it – it was some sort of trip switch and he knew he wasn’t going to make it out in time. His body prepared itself for the hit and when he came too he was lying buried under rubble in what seemed to be the middle of the basement of the abandoned warehouse. He couldn’t move. After the explosion his comm went dead and all he could hear was distortion. 

He tried breathing but everything hurt. He took quite a fall if he was lying in the basement. He couldn’t feel his legs. At last he stopped trying to move and instead decided to focus on her. To focus on her face, her eyes, her smile, her smell, her voice……and then he heard it. He didn’t know if he was hallucinating but then he heard Thea’s voice frantic with worry in the background he knew they solved the problem with the comms and it was all real.

“Oliver? Oliver can you hear me?” Felicity yelled.

He tried talking but when he opened his mouth to speak a loud cough erupted out of his lungs and that’s when he saw how serious it was…blood was trickling down his neck over his lips. He knew he didn’t have a lot of time. Even if they sent help now, he knew there was a huge chance that they would be able to find him right away….he could die.

In almost a hoarse whisper he managed to say her name “Felicity” and started coughing again.

“Oh thank God Oliver. Are you okay? Where are you?”

“Felicity” he said again, his voice a bit louder but it hurt so much.

“Oliver, where are you, your tracker went dead, please tell me where you are?” He could hear her trying to hide the hysterics in her voice.

“I’m at the warehouse. There was a trip switch on one of the doors and a bomb went off. The floor collapsed. I’m lying in the basement with rubble on top of me.”

He heard people yelling orders in the background as her breath hitched. “Okay, just stay calm honey, everything’s gonna be okay. Dig’s coming to get you. Please just stay with me.” 

“Felicity, I need…say something.”

He could hear her sob on the other side.

“Felicity, you know I love you right?”

“Yes I do and I love you Oliver. So so much, but don’t talk too much. You need to save your strength. Dig’s on his way.”

“I’m so happy that I have you in my life….you make me happy Felicity. I want you to know that I couldn’t imagine my life without you. I’m so sorry I took so long for us to be together. I never meant to hurt you Felicity.”

“Oliv…”

“You were right about dinner that night when Thea and Laurel came to our house in Ivy Town. It was something more than just dinner. I was planning on proposing.” He started coughing violently now and the more he coughed, the more blood started spewing out of his mouth.

“Oliver? Are you okay? What’s happening? Are you still there?”

He finally got the cough under control, but his eye lids were getting heavier with each breath he took. He would lose consciousness soon and he knew he needed to say what he wanted to say before it was too late. 

“Yeah, still here….Felicity, I need you to know that I wanted to build a future with you, have a family with you and I know I might not have that now, but I need to know…..Felicity will you marry me?”

He barely said the words when the distorted sound returned to his ear and then everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think?  
> Your comments and kudos are like air :)
> 
> Come say hi on Tumblr  
> charlinert.tumblr.com


	7. Before it's too late (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Oliver proposes to Felicity over Coms at a dire time because he fears it will be the only chance he gets (Diggle, Laurel, and/or Thea are back at the lair watching anxiously for Felicity to say an answer)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on writing a follow up on the original "Before it's too late", but since so many people requested it, here's part 2 - hope it's to everyone's liking xx

Her ears were ringing, everything became a blur and all she could hear over and over in her head was “ _Felicity will you marry me?”_

 

She hadn’t realised that she almost passed out until she focused on the glass of water Laurel put in her hand.

 

“Are you okay?” Laurel asked.

 

“Oliver?” was all she could get out.  She knew the comms disconnected again and now her hysterics were showing when she finally realised he didn’t know what was going on.  He was lying all alone, hurt in an abandoned warehouse trying to make peace with the fact that he was going to die and spoke his last words. “I didn’t even get to answer him.” She sobbed as her body reacted to the shock of what just happened.

 

“He’s gonna be okay Felicity.  Dig’s gonna find him.  I promise everything will be okay.” Laurel touched her shoulder.

 

Felicity sniffled and then another worry set in….Thea.  With big eyes she asked “Where’s Thea?”

 

Laurel smiled softly as she looked to the back of the lair.  “She left with Dig to find him.  She didn’t want to sit here and wait. He’s the only brother she has and I know they disagree about a lot, but she loves him.”

 

“I know.” She nodded as she moved back to her computer typing profusely trying to get the comms back online.

 

“Dig, do you copy? Dig?” Laurel tried the comms, but still there was nothing but silence.

 

***

 

Felicity didn’t know how long she typed, but the more she typed the more her tears blurred the view of the screen.  Finally, when she was just about to give up sounds started running through the comms.  She could hear it was Thea, but they could only make out parts of her words.

 

“Thea?  Please repeat, we can’t hear you.”  Felicity said in-between tears.

 

“Okay….hosp…al…O…ie” was all they could hear and then the signal disappeared again.

 

Even though it was cryptic both Felicity and Laurel knew there was only one way to find out what was going on – they needed to get to the hospital.

 

***

 

She didn’t exactly know how to react to all the pipes and machines linked to his battered and bruised body.  She had seen him hurt.  Hell, she had been frantic with worry before and she had thought of ways to help him before while he was hurt, but this was the worst she had ever seen him.  Maybe it was worse in the sense that she didn’t need to hide her real feelings anymore, maybe it was the fact that he was lying in a coma and they didn’t know if he’d ever open his eyes again. Maybe it was guilt that was tearing away at her knowing that he’d wanted to propose so many times before and never found the right moment.  Maybe it was because she never got to tell him that she wanted a life with him too and she couldn’t ever imagine living without him.  She had tried living without him before, but she wasn’t fooling anyone but herself.

 

She sat silently next to his bed holding his hand.  It had been more than three days since the explosion and there was still no change.  When Dig brought him in he was barely breathing, he had lost a lot of blood, both his legs were broken from the fall and some of his ribs were fractured, but after hours in surgery they managed to stabilize him.

 

It was one of the most trying times in her life - the only thing holding her together at that moment was hearing him breathe.  She pressed her lips gently to his fingers when a stray tear dropped on his skin.  She turned for a moment to get a Kleenex when an earth shattering yell twirled her back around within seconds.

 

“Felicity!” He yelled and sat up straight in his bed almost pulling out every wire and tube connected to him with the force.

 

“Shhhh, it’s okay.” She rushed over pushing him down on the bed slowly, gently stroking his face with the back of her hand, reassuring him she was right there.

 

He finally calmed down as he focused on her face.  She knew she looked like a real vision - she had dark circles under her eyes and tear tracks over her face, but despite that she had a smile on her face.  He was alive and he was awake.  She couldn’t stop herself and lunged herself over him capturing his lips in one move.  When he responded to her kiss, she knew he could recognise her and that everything was gonna be okay.

 

“Hey.” He said as he smiled softly when she let go of him looking him straight in the eye, tears streaming down her face.

 

“Hey. I’m so happy you’re awake.” She said softly as she sat back down next to his bed pressing his hand next to her face.

 

“Felicity?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You didn’t….”

 

“Yes.  My answer has always been yes Oliver.  I want to spend the rest of my life with you.  I want to marry you.  I love you.”

 

His face lit up at the confession and he somehow gathered enough strength to pull her towards him again.  He kissed her with such resilience that even he didn’t know existed inside him.

 

“I love you too.”  He whispered as he smiled into her mouth continuing their kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think?  
> Your comments and kudos are like air :)
> 
> Come say hi on Tumblr  
> charlinert.tumblr.com


	8. More than meets the eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> peillimoops said:
> 
> Just an idea ( if you don’t like it it’s fine) 
> 
> The team(inc felicity) is out in the field and are running when felicity pulls out some brilliant parkour skills and has to explain that her dad left (something happens to her mom you decide) and she was raised in a circus in Vegas…
> 
> Hope you like it but it’s fine if you don’t
> 
> If they could be with all the central city people at the same time that would be cool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an AU Olicity drabble. Probably set in the middle of season 2. No established Olicity.

“Make a left turn at Adams road, he should be in front of you now Oliver.” Felicity instructed from out of the van.

“I’ll come in from the opposite side, are you ready for me Oliver?” Barry said, not even sounding a little out of breath.

“Yeah, get ready to intercept in 3, 2, 1.” Oliver replied.

“Dammit!” Barry exclaimed. “How the hell did he do that? He’s heading your way Cisco.”

“Plan B is ready - I’ve got “the boot” fired up and ready for action.” Cisco announced and opened up the van door waiting for the new meta-human they were chasing in Central City.

“Okay Cisco, ready? You should see him…..NOW!” Felicity screamed.

“It’s stuck!” Cisco yelled and the next moment “the boot” went flying in the air as Plastic Man rushed passed the van.

Oliver and Barry came to a complete stop when suddenly out of nowhere Felicity appeared on the van’s roof with the boot. She jumped for the railing of the building structure behind them and swung herself from streetlight to streetlight like she was doing some sort of adult version of ‘monkey bars’. The boot was wrapped securely around her waist as she swung from pole to pole and pulled her up on one of the building balconies so she could have a clear shot of the man running in her direction, clearly not aware of what was going on above him.

She finally took her shot, but “the boot” had no effect on the man whatsoever. Felicity did a summersault from the balcony and landed on her feet like she was a cat with a full nine lives in tact.

“I can’t believe I missed him.” She said apologetically and then realised she was now the center of attention. Barry, Cisco and Oliver were all staring at her like they’ve just seen someone come back to life.

She knew what was coming. She’s seen Oliver look at her like that before and that was his “I’m going to give you a major lecture” look and there would be yelling. A small piece of material in the middle of the road ripped her out of thoughts.

“At least I got a piece of him or his suit for that matter.” She smiled shyly and picked up the piece of material. “Hey! We’ve got some blood on here too!” she exclaimed with joy. “Now we can analyse the DNA and find another way to catch this guy.”

“Great, let’s get back to the lab.” Barry broke the silence first and everyone made their way back to the van.

****

The silence was deafening as they entered Star Labs. At least they were greeted by a smiling Caitlin, whose smile immediately disappeared when she saw the stoic facial expressions of the men walking in.

“Can you give us the room for a minute?” Oliver asked before Caitlin could even utter a single word.

“Yes, sure.” Barry answered. “We’ll start with the tests in the meantime.” He gestured to Caitlin and Cisco to follow.

You could cut the atmosphere with a knife as Felicity was nearly chewing off her bottom lip awaiting the lecture from the man with the piercing blue eyes.

“Look, I know I shouldn’t have gone after him, but there was no other alternative. I couldn’t let him get away. We’ve spent so much time on finding him and I couldn’t just stand by and see all the time and effort going to waste.”

“Felicity, how? Where did you learn how to do that?”

“Talk so much? I think you’ve noticed that I do talk a lot, especially when I get nervous…well actually it started when I was in the seventh grade. Lucy Williams accused me of some…”

“Felicity, that hasn’t escaped my attention, but no not the talking. The jumping and summersaulting….it was like it wasn’t even you out there?”

“I think you’ve also noticed that I don’t talk about my family?”

“I have noticed that yes.”

“Well, I was about 6 years old when my dad left. I got home one day and he was gone. He abandoned my mother and me and all of a sudden my mom had to become both parents. Over and above that she had to start working double shifts to make sure there was enough money to pay all the bills and even a little left to pay for the education she wanted me to have. She worked as a cocktail waitress in Caesar’s Palace. I would go there every day after school and do my homework while I waited for her to finish her first shift. She would take me home, make dinner, tuck me into bed and then go back to work for her second shift.”

“I’m so sorry about your dad Felicity, but it still doesn’t explain the….”

“Just be patient, it’s kind of a long story.”

Oliver couldn’t help but smile and gestured for her to continue.

“As I got into my teens, normal school work became no challenge and I was finished with my homework even before I really began. I started to explore the casino and was drawn to one of the new headline shows. It was a circus act, but it wasn’t like the normal types of circuses you see on TV or whatever, this was beyond brilliant. They had such a huge variety you could never get bored looking at them. I started going to their warm up sessions everyday while I waited for my mom. One specific day, Aliana saw me sitting watching them and she invited me to come and watch on stage. I loved it. Aliana was one of the acrobats, the main feature and she was just so beautiful and graceful. I wanted to be just like her.”

Felicity paused and smiled softly when Oliver took a seat knowing that the story might be longer than anything he’s ever heard. He knew he had to let her talk and he was willing to listen.

“She grew rather fond of me and even taught me some tumbles and stuff, but nothing major. Over the weekends I was allowed to go with my mom for her second shift and I would be backstage helping out with costumes and makeup for the performers. After every show it was tradition that the team would go to the restaurant my mom worked at and celebrate with a night cap. One evening while everyone from the team was waiting for their drinks a group of men entered with guns. They wanted money from the casino’s vault. When the management didn’t want to give in to their demands, they randomly started shooting people to prove their point.”

Oliver’s frown deepened with every sentence that Felicity spoke, almost anticipating the outcome of this story.

“Aliana and I were sitting very close to the entrance when the men stormed the restaurant. They pointed the gun to Aliana and me. My mom saw this and just as the man shot my mom jumped in the way of the bullet to protect me and Aliana. She was killed instantly.”

Felicity tried hard to push away the tears but to no success. The tears fell across her face and Oliver couldn’t help swallow thickly as the terrible tale unfolded. How was it that after two years of working to closely with this woman that he never knew this about her?

“Georgio, the manager and creator of the act and also Aliana’s dad, took me in when my mom died. The little money my mom had saved helped Georgio and Aliana to homeschool me. We were like gypsies, travelling from one city to the next to perform. She started teaching me everything she knew. Soon the two of us were the best part of the act. About three years later Georgio and Aliana were in a car accident while buying supplies. When the will was read I found out that Georgio had started a fund where he saved money for me to go to college. It was enough for me to go to MIT and then I got the job at Queen Consolidated, where we met. So now you know my sad life’s story and how I could do what I did.”

“Wow!” Oliver shook his head in disbelief. “That’s incredible, but why didn’t you ever tell me this before?”

“You never asked.” She joked. “I don’t know Oliver, maybe it’s because it hurts too much.”

Oliver smiled gently, knowing exactly how she must be feeling, because he felt the same way about his five years away, still felt that way to be honest.

“Now that I know, don’t think for a moment I’m ever letting you do anything remotely close to what you did today. It was impressive though, but Felicity it’s too dangerous! Okay?”

“Yeah, about that…..I can’t promise you I won’t ever do it again. You guys are my family now and I would do anything to help and protect you.”

Knowing he won’t be winning this argument he decided to go and find Barry to get an update on the sample Felicity go from Plastic Man.

As he walked out the door he paused and turned around, “So if you could do all that stuff you did today, I’m sure you’re probably good at other stuff too.”

Felicity blushed, “Well, wouldn’t you like to know.”

“I wasn’t talking about that, I’m talking about a salmon ladder contest.” He winked and left her standing in the middle of the lab not knowing if he was kidding or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hi on Tumblr:  
> charlinert.tumblr.com


	9. Weird Meeting Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tinaday3w said:  
> Ooh fic prompts?? How about meeting in a laundromat? Or on a speed dating circuit?

Felicity Smoak is a very busy woman. She doesn’t have time for things that take unnecessary time….things as trivial as doing laundry. Laundry is on the bottom of her list, right there with visiting a zoo to see kangaroos. Laundry is already a schlep when you need to do it in the comfort of your own home but when her washing machine just decides to break it couldn’t have come at a worst time. She has nothing in her cupboard to wear but an old MIT t-shirt and sweats, since she usually waits till the absolute last minute to do this dreaded chore. After spending at least an hour trying to figure out what was wrong with the washing machine she realises it was a mechanical fault and the closest mechanic would only reach her in two days. Felicity has no other alternative, other than to take a few sick days to live in her only remaining clean clothes, but to go to a very public Laundromat.

It’s crowded, just as she expected, so she takes a seat close to the row of industrial machines, ready to jump as soon as one becomes available. She decides to get some work done while she waits. Multitasking, she keeps one eye on the machines and the other on her tablet. Finally after what feels like an eternity a machine close to her opens up and she rushes towards it, just to be met by a tall, blue eyed man having exactly the same idea.

Their washing baskets land on the top of the machine at exactly the same time and then the battle of the washing machine starts…..

“I’m sorry, I was here first.” she immediately makes it very clear to the man staring back.

“I beg to differ, my basket is…” he takes a closer look at the position of his basket and measures it with his hand. “…this much over the half mark of this machine, so I guess the machine is mine.”

Felicity looks at him completely dumbfounded by the audacity of this man and wants to give him the ‘didn’t your mother ever teach you the ladies first rule’, but decides to guilt trip him into giving her the machine instead.

“Look, I have a deadline at work and I’ve been sitting here waiting for the machines to open up, please, I need to use this machine now otherwise I won’t get done with my work in time and then I will miss the deadline and then most probably lose my job and then I won’t even be able to pay to do my laundry anymore because I wouldn’t have any money….” she stopped in the middle of a babble realising she might be blowing this up a tad too much.

The man stares back at her with an amused grin on his face, but he doesn’t seem to be in any frame of mind to budge.

“I’ll tell you what. Since you’re not the only one who desperately wants to get home, why don’t we just share a machine?”

Felicity wants to tell him that he’s totally crazy, but before her mouth shoots away with a detailed answer as to why this is a terrible idea, she takes a look around and it seems that her wait might last at least for another hour if she lets the machine go now.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath and bites out a short “fine” at the guy standing in front of her looking rather too excited as he awaits her answer.

“So how are we going to do this sharing thing?” 

“I think like everyone normally does laundry? We have to separate the dark colours form the light colours I guess?”

“I cannot wash my ‘delicates’ with your shirts though. They are lace and will get torn if they get hooked on something.”

“Okay then, we’ll have three piles?”

They start sorting and by accident one of Felicity’s lace panties come flying out of her basket straight into the man’s face. He catches it just in time before it can attach itself to his head. Felicity doesn’t know what to do in the situation and a bright red blush immediately situates itself all over her face covering her ears right to the top.

“I’m so sorry.” she gasps out in embarrassment.

The man gives a breathy laugh as he still holds the lacy material in his hands.

Felicity moves forward grabbing it out of his hands and throws it into the pile next to her with the rest of her ‘delicates’. She wants to die of embarrassment, but tries to remind her of why she’s in this terrible situation and the sooner she gets this over with the sooner she can go home.

“Girls usually tell me their names first before throwing their panties at me….” He smiles softly continuing with the task at hand. “…..or at least let me buy them dinner first….” he continues without making eye contact.

“What about you just call me ‘washing machine girl’ for now?”

She doesn’t miss the huge smile on his face and the way his bright blue eyes sparkle the bigger his smile becomes. She cannot remember the last time she had a conversation with someone this beautiful, except for that time when Benjamin Olsen made her think that he was interested in her and then it all went to hell when she found out he was using her to get information on class assignments. Nerds like her never moved in the same circles as guys like him. He was so out of her league she couldn’t even see the name of his league.

She catches herself staring and forces her thoughts back to sorting her clothes.

They continue their laundry in a surprisingly comfortable silence, and before she knows it, she puts in her last laundry pile, silently watching the man neatly fold his clothes and puts them in his washing basket.

“Well, I guess I’m done……thank you for agreeing to share. I hope you get your work done in time.” 

“Thank you, I hope so too.” she says and smiles.

“It’s a shame we never got to go to that dinner I was talking about earlier.”

“Yeah, a real shame, but I’m sure girls are just lining up to throw their panties at you.” she bit back realising too late that she was acting really rude.

He smiles at her uncomfortably and nods taking the hint of her last comment. He doesn’t say goodbye and she feels like an idiot as she watches him leave without making it right.

*******************

She doesn’t know how Caitlin managed to talk her into speed dating, but after treating ‘laundromat guy’ so terribly she realised she’d been under so much stress that she can’t even remember the last time she did something for herself. She knows the time is right to put herself out there, but with all the jerks she’s met tonight she was seriously considering getting up and walking out, ticking this off as another ‘crash and burn’ evening.

The bell rings indicating the start of the next rotation and she takes a deep breath hoping for an improvement after the last six partners that passed by her table.

“Well, if it isn’t ‘washing machine girl’.” She instantly recognizes the voice approaching her and inwardly groans as she sees the hopefulness fly away giving her a wave and a wink goodbye.

‘Laundromat guy’ takes a seat in front of her and gives her a somewhat guarded look, before he starts spilling his pedigree as the speed dating rules stipulate.

“Felicity, I see….” pointing to her name tag pinned on her blouse. “…my name is Oliver and I am newly single. My interests are picking up random women at Laundromats, catching underwear and playing baseball.”

She picks up the sarcasm right away and smirks at him sitting with a stupid grin on his face, looking like he just achieved a medal for that brilliant piece of acting.

“Quite happy to hear stalking said Laundromat women wasn’t included on that list.” she bites back, waiting to see how this tennis match is going to end.

“You know what, I think I’ll leave…I’ve clearly said or done something to offend you and even though that wasn’t my intention it took a lot for me to come out here tonight, so I’ll rather just go and leave you in peace.”

He gets ready to stand up when she places her hand over his still on the table.

“No, I’m sorry, I was rude. Please don’t go.”

She smiles gently at him relaxing Oliver almost immediately and he sits back down.

“So……Oliver…..newly single huh? Divorced, relationship that didn’t work, girl dumped you at the Laundromat?” she winks at him making sure he knows she’s only joking.

“Widower.” he says looking down at his clasped hands on the table.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’s already been three years, but getting back into the dating scene has been a real journey and I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I’m struggling.” he tried to compose himself by still looking at his hands.

“Yeah, I get that….not that I know exactly how you feel, cause I don’t and I don’t want you to feel like I’m trying to tell you how you must feel, because I don’t…..I’ll just keep quiet now.” She can feel the blush creep up from her neck but she holds his gaze.

“You have beautiful eyes.” She says softly without thinking.

He smiles at the comment and his blue eyes sparkle again in the same way she remembers that night in the Laundromat. 

“What do you say we get out of here and I buy you that dinner we never got to?”

She nods in agreement and bends down to get her purse.

“Just so you know, I won’t be throwing my panties at you afterward though.”

“Ah man! That was the part I was looking forward to the most.”

He joked back making her laugh for the first time in forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hi on Tumblr:  
> charlinert.tumblr.com


	10. Ruby Red Lips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mel-loves-all said:  
> Ruby Red Lips

Oliver has always been protective of Felicity…..overprotective being the more accurate and descriptive word. He became even more so when he found out that his wife was expecting. She had a difficult pregnancy and even though Oliver was quite used to getting the ‘it’s my life, my choice’ look from her, he put his foot down hard and told her he wasn’t taking any chances after Felicity started getting contraction like pains very early in her third trimester. She knew he was right and even though she hated the thought she started taking it easy. Obeying doctor’s orders - lots of bed rest and working from home for the sake of herself and their unborn baby.

He was skeptical at first when ‘Living and Loving Baby Magazine’ wanted to do a spread on how Felicity was the youngest CEO, married and now starting a family. It was important to Felicity to do this, since she felt she could inspire young woman to have it all and give a bit of advice as to how to keep a balanced life. It wasn’t in his nature to say no to her, so he gave in to her request on two conditions – the photo-shoot would take place in the garden of their house, no other destination and the moment she felt tired, the shoot would be over – no discussion. She happily agreed and Oliver felt the tension melting out of his body, because he prepared himself for a huge discussion about that.

He stood on the side looking as the photographers and stylists got Felicity ready for the pictures that would feature in the article. 

He has always been a big fan of Felicity’s brightly coloured lipsticks but there was just something about the way she looked right at that moment. She wore a short white dress that accentuated her baby bump and her beautifully toned legs with a lacy white jacket that was a little longer than the dress she had on. Her hair was down and soft curls framed her face as it fell gently over her shoulders. No heavy make up with the white dress but her lips were ruby red.

Red was a significant colour for him when he thought of Felicity. It was the colour of the pen she was chewing the first time he spoke to her. Red was the colour she wore on their first date. Red was the colour of the coat she was wearing when he left her to fight Ra’s, but it was the first time that he flat out told her he loved her, without playing around with words or trying to bluff someone. Red was the colour of her blood that stained his shirt as he held her lifeless body sitting in the middle of the road after she was shot and she agreed to marry him just a few moments before. Red was the colour she wore when she left his engagement ring on the table and walking out of his life when she discovered his lie. Red was the colour of the rose he gave her on their wedding day signifying that it would forever be them against the world. Red was the colour of her lips as she stood smiling looking down at her growing belly cherishing the life their love created. 

It was at that moment as he stared at her with unexplained love in his eyes that she looked up and gave him a smile filled with so much joy. He smiled back, the smile only reserved for this beautiful person he was fortunate enough to call his wife and soon to be the mother of this child. He knew that it didn’t matter what life threw at them, good or bad, she would always be his girl…..his girl girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hi on Tumblr:  
> charlinert.tumblr.com


	11. Let's try this again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why are you being so secretive about this trip?” Felicity straps herself into her seat on the jet.

“I’m not being secretive, I told you to pack warm clothes.”

“And that was the end of the conversation.” she sighs giving Oliver a very serious look. “It’s not Lian Yu is it? I know it’s significant to you, but I really hate that island. Come on Oliver, you know how much I hate mysteries, so why are you keeping the destination from me?”

“It’s a surprise Felicity and no it’s not Lian Yu.” 

He means to sound a bit more excited but she can hear the nervousness in his tone….or was it something else that she was hearing? Either way she decides to leave the topic and indulge him. Clearly this meant something to him, so pushing him for an answer might not be the best choice at the moment.

********

Felicity leans on the windowsill of their hotel room, overlooking the beautiful city lights of Moscow. It looks like a fairytale with the white blanket of snow all around them. She’s only experienced snow twice in her life before – it was Christmas morning during her final year at MIT. No one had expected it to snow on Christmas so it was quite the miracle as everyone described it. The second was the time they went to Russia to save Lyla. She winces at the thought and tries to put it out of her mind and bury it where it should have stayed by the way.

A pair of strong arms envelopes her from behind and the chilliness she wasn’t even aware of evaporates as his heat covers every inch of her body.

He places a soft kiss on her cheek and smiles as she feels highly strung man from a few hours ago disappears.

“So, care to share why you decided on Russia for our first wedding anniversary?”

And just like that he retreats within himself again and she knows that it wasn’t just nervousness, something’s up and she’s not letting this go.

“Oliver….” she turns around to look at him and he leads them to the couch to sit down.

She gives him a few minutes to sort his thoughts and just when she’s about to tell him to spit it out he starts talking.

“I wanted to give you a ‘do over’.”

“A ‘do over’? Oliver, what are you talking about? Why do I need a ‘do over’?

“The last time we were here it didn’t really go that well.”

“I still don’t understand, we saved Lyla and went home safe after the mission….that was the mission right? Did I miss something?”

He placed his hand on hers making her shiver at his touch. “No there wasn’t anything else where the mission was concerned….I’m talking about us.”

When she only responds with a frown he takes the time to continue.

“Felicity, that night when you came to my room and saw Isabel leaving…..I….when I saw your face and disappointment written all over it I knew I messed up and that was one of the worst feelings I have ever had.”

“But why? We weren’t even together then. I had no right to show you how I felt. You weren’t mine to have, so why did it bother you so much?”

“Because that was the moment I realised I had fallen for you. There were moments before that I knew something was happening and I didn’t want to give in to my desires and feelings, because I knew I couldn’t be good for you and that you deserved someone….whole.”

“Hence the ‘because of the life I lead speech’.” 

“Yes.” He says embarrassed.

“Okay…..but it still doesn’t explain why we need a ‘do over’.”

“I wanted to bring you back here and show you the places I told you about the Bratva in my journal. I want to make it up to you because you had a horrible experience the last time you were here. I wan….”

“Oliver….” She interrupts him and scoots closer to him on the couch, taking both his hands in hers and gives him a soft smile. “Honey, you know I love you right?”

He nods and tries to break eye contact but the blue of her eyes entrances him and he cannot bring himself to look away.

“Thank you for trying to do this and I get why, I really do, but the day I said ‘I do’ and promised to spend the rest of my life with you…..that day was the day that everything that had happened in the past was buried for me. This was the day that a new chapter started and I don’t want to spend our first anniversary trying to make up for past mistakes. I want to be here with you to make new memories….experience new things with you, not because you feel guilty but because we’re here together now, celebrating our future.”

He gives her a smile and she knows that smile – that smile is the his real smile, his smile when he feels he can breathe and he looks at her knowing all is well with the world.

Without an answer his lips are on hers and all the guilt and the fear melt away. It’s just them – just his beautiful wife curled up in his arms as the snow falls outside.

Never again will he think back to Russia as a place of death and blood or a place where he saw disappointment on the face of the woman he loves – Russia will be the place where new memories were made with that same woman he finally got to marry – the place where his baby boy, born 38 weeks later, was conceived out of the deep love that he has for his mother – the place where he knew that he was lucky enough to live a modern day fairy tale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hi on Tumblr:  
> [charlinert](charlinert.tumblr.com)


	12. The Way to your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olicity Prompt: Oliver has them attend cooking class, not just because she can’t cook but to have some fun together, something that is just fun for them.....and Felicity is not very happy.

‘The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.’ 

If she could receive a dollar every time her grandmother uttered those words to her she would have been a billionaire by now.

She kept on reminding herself that the main reason she was standing in a class full of people who seemed that they were enjoying working with raw eggs, meat and the more she thought of all the rawness that passed her hands she almost gagged. 

She looked over to the opposite side of the counter and tried to concentrate on the handsome man. He had a frown between his eyes that she knew all too well, but there was something light about him. He looked calm, he looked at peace with the world and for a change the frown from concentration was caused by cooking and not trying to figure out how to save a city from a terrorist attack.

To Felicity food was never a priority. She could never cook to start with and so TV dinners were the order of the day since college and Big Belly became a daily routine since she started working with ‘Team Arrow’. She never had to show off her cooking skills to anyone…that was until the former playboy vigilante finally made up his mind and they drove off in the sunset.

Going on vacation with Oliver was more than she could ever dream of, but then the constant dream came to an end and they settled down in Ivy Town and she was met by domesticity. Her first meal was a total disaster and she still had no idea how he was able to polish his plate of the totally inedible food she ‘cooked’. She felt so guilty that she couldn’t play the part of the adorning housewife and take care of the one thing she loved more than anything in the world – Oliver Queen.

He had so much hope in his eyes the day he stood in front of her desk asking her if she was willing to spend time with him twice a week doing something different. She couldn’t say yes fast enough, though afterwards she thought that she maybe should have asked what the activity was before agreeing to it….cooking class.

This was already their third class and she just couldn’t bring herself to enjoy it. She put on a great show for him, since he was taking to cooking like a fish in water and she didn’t want to disappoint him, but she just couldn’t get the hang of it. It didn’t matter how many pep talks she gave herself or how she told herself it was a mind over matter thing, it just wasn’t working.

******

One night she was thankful for a report that was due to the Palmer Tech Board, which she never was happy about since she named the new CEO after Ray’s sudden death, Oliver offered to cook dinner.

She was busy typing away on her keyboard when she felt familiar eyes on her. She knew he was watching her and the all familiar guilt filled her again. Here she was working and he was fulfilling her "role” by cooking. She took a deep breath and looked up staring at the beautiful blue eyes she could get lost in, at any given moment.

“Hey.” he said softly leaning against the door to their study.

“Hey, I’m almost done then I’ll come and help you in the kitchen okay?” she quickly added so he could know she wasn’t abandoning him and expecting him to do everything.

“It’s okay, dinner is ready. We can eat when you’re done with your report.”

There was a slight frown between his eyes and she knew there was something on his mind and he didn’t exactly know how to say what he was thinking.

She immediately stopped typing to give him her full attention. They had made so much progress in communicating the last few months and she didn’t want him to feel like he couldn’t talk to her.

“Oliver…” she started off softly and cautiously, “…what’s on your mind honey?”

He smiled at her, knowing that after all this time he could never successfully keep anything from her. He moved over to her sitting on her desk chair and bent down so they were now face to face.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you hated the cooking class?” 

At first she was shocked that he asked her so directly, but then again, he’s always been good at deciphering her too. She wanted to deny it, but then thought the better of it and went with the acceptance approach.

“I didn’t want to disappoint you. I know how important doing stuff together is and I didn’t want you to feel like I didn’t want to accept responsibility for my role in our relationship.”

His frown deepened at her words. He gave her his adorable ‘I’m confused Felicity’ head shake and she couldn’t help but smile a little. 

“Your role? Felicity, do you really think that I’m that old fashioned to expect you to do all the cooking while I make money, which by the way if you haven’t forgotten, I’m not.”

He took her hands in his and gave her his serious look.

“I love you for who you are. I didn’t fall in love with you because you could or couldn’t cook. I fell in love with you because you make me want to be a better man, you make me feel like I can achieve anything. You make me feel like there’s hope for me after all. Your other skills might have played a part but it had absolutely nothing to do with your culinary skills.”

“Really?”

He gave her a kiss that took her breath away and when they finally parted she stared back into his blue eyes again.

“Yes Felicity, really. I don’t ever want you to feel like you need to do something that you don’t like to impress me. I already love you, and I don’t think it’s possible to even love you more than I do at this moment.”

“Thank you.” she gave him a small smile and traced her thumb over the deep wrinkle between his eyes. “I promise I’ll make it up to you in many other ways.” giving him a wink and a sly grin.

“Well I didn’t make dessert, so I’m sure you can help out with that after dinner.” he smiled back before giving her another kiss….needless to say dessert was first on the menu that night…..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hi on Tumblr:  
> [charlinert](charlinert.tumblr.com)


	13. Where did it go wrong?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olicity Prompt: Please can you write a fic where Oliver is a boxer and he has a small child with Felicity and make it like the One more night by Maroon 5 Music Video AU but with a happy ending?
> 
>  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS!!!!  
> Mentions of violence and addiction

Tick tock….

Tick tock….

Tick tock….

He kept staring at the watch. The more he stared the slower time seemed to pass by. The wind was howling outside and the overcast weather matched the way he felt on the inside. He was seated next to the fire place with a clear view of the door, but in spite of his warm attire and surroundings he still felt the chills running down his spine and the wait only made it worse.

Tick tock….

Tick tock….

Tick tock….

Six months had passed and every second was hell. His dreams made it worse and even though he knew that it was for the best he couldn’t help the emptiness that filled his heart, his being, his whole world since the day he lost them.

 

\-----

_Success was a relative term, but Oliver Queen believed it was what he had – success. He had a beautiful wife, great friends and a supporting family. He was moving up the ladder in his job to an executive level position – life couldn’t get better._

_Or so he thought…._

_What started as a quick drink with his best friend after work ended in pure tragedy. They were heading to their cars when three men with guns and knives cornered them outside the bar. It was supposed to be a standard case mugging, valuables, money, but when Tommy made a smart ass remark one of the perpetrators lost his cool and shot him….a point blank head shot._

_Oliver couldn’t move, he just sat on the pavement feeling Tommy’s blood run over his hands as people were running around trying to contact Police and Emergency Services. It was too late. Tommy had already died and he couldn’t do a thing to stop it._

_The guilt of that night was all that drove him now. He enrolled in boxing and self-defense classes._

_In the beginning the reason was merely to protect himself and the people he loved, but when Felicity found out she was pregnant, it became an obsession. Work outs became training for competitions and when he realised he was in too deep it was already too late._

_The nightmares of Tommy’s death had always been there but the more he drove his new obsession the worse the nightmares became. He found himself in the middle of situations where Felicity and their unborn child were in danger and he couldn’t do anything to save them._

_The only relief was sleeping pills._

_After a while that also became futile and he increased his own dosage._

_The cure became addiction and what started out as the solution now became the problem. His personality changed. He became more absent minded, angry, so very angry and distant._

_He didn’t know where the anger came from but he knew it was there and Felicity was normally the one at the receiving end of any and all frustration he experienced. He never physically hurt her, but he knew the emotional scars of his words and his actions were very much present on her heart and her mind._

_She started to distance herself from him completely after an argument went south and he put his fist through the door next to where Felicity was standing. He will never be able to erase the memory of the shock and horror displayed in her eyes that day._

_He knew he was spiraling and he knew he needed help._

_He made the decision after he kissed Felicity on the cheek and baby Angie on her forehead. This would be his last boxing match…..little did he know how right he had been._

_When he returned home that night they were gone. No note. It was like they didn’t even exist. All traces of his wife and daughter were gone._

_He sat in his chair listening to the deafening silence that now filled his once happy home and all he saw was his achievement in boxing, his trophies, and all they resembled was nothing but failure – failing the one thing that he might never get back – his family._

_*******_

_With the help of his boxing coach he checked himself into rehab. He got professional help and with the help of the counsellors he started dealing with the loss and guilt of Tommy’s death. He started to deal with his addiction and the loss of his family._

_He was clean and he started to patch up his life, day by day, piece by piece._

_He took a chance and he phoned her a few months after getting out of rehab – he didn’t exactly know what to expect but the blood froze in his veins the moment he heard her voice on the other side of the line._

_Surprisingly she agreed to meet. He suggested a public place to put her mind at ease._

 

\-----

Here he was sitting after six months, hoping to mend what he broke.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a petite blonde woman carrying a dark haired little girl. He couldn’t help but smile at the picture they made, but his heart didn’t bear the same sentiment. He felt like he was hyperventilating with each beat his heart gave.

Her smile made him freeze and for the first time in so long he could see the peace in her eyes that always made him calm down and know that everything was going to be okay.

She took a seat on the opposite side of the table, but Angie was way too occupied with the curls of her mother’s hair to care who the stranger on the opposite side of the table was.

He didn’t know where to start, what to say to her. He didn’t know how to make her believe how sorry he was for all the wrong that he did, for hurting her, but the soft smile she gave him and the glistening of the tears forming in her eyes told him no words were needed for the moment.

She slowly turned Angie around to face him and the little girl stared back at him. Big blue eyes like her dad and dark curly hair like her mother. She was indeed the perfect mixture of the two of them and so beautiful.

The little girl smiled at him and instantly stretched out her little arms gesturing for him to take her. He was uncertain at first but then she uttered “Dada” and he couldn’t help the tears falling over his cheeks.

“She remembers me?” he asked between sobs taking her from Felicity over the table. He cradled her little body close to his and kissed her baby soft hair, taking in her scent. She still smelled the same as the day they brought her home from the hospital.

Tears were streaming down Felicity’s face too. “I would never have her forget her father Oliver.”

She reached out to him across the table and Oliver put his hand in hers without any hesitation.

“Felicity, I’m so so very sorry. I don’t know how you would ever be able to forgive me.” he said still sobbing.

“I already have Oliver, because I cannot imagine loving anyone more than I love you. I don’t want anyone else to be my husband, to be the father of our children. You, Oliver Queen, are forgiven and so so loved.”

He couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth, but he knew she wouldn’t have said it if she didn’t mean it.

She pulled her chair next to his and Oliver, still holding Angie with the one arm, pulled her in for a hug with his other arm. He was reunited with his family.

There was still a long journey ahead of healing and rebuilding trust, but as he sat there next to the fire with both his girls back in his arms he knew his mother was right – nothing is as important as family, and as long as he had them, he would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hi on Tumblr:  
> [charlinert](charlinert.tumblr.com)


	14. 5x22 Drabble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity throws Oliver a surprise birthday party.  
> This is basically what I hope will happen :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I don't normally do this, but this has been flooding my brain since I read the 5x22 synopsis.  
> I really hope you like it xxx

After catching Chase Oliver seemed a bit more relaxed, in his own Oliver kind of way, but she figured that after all the terrible things they all had suffered this past year, having something cheerful and positive to celebrate was just what they needed as a team. Oliver’s birthday seemed to be the perfect excuse and if she was really honest with herself she also wanted to do something special for him.

Turns out that arranging a surprise party for someone whose second name could have been Sherlock proved to be trickier than she initially figured. Since she and Oliver were in a much better place with their relationship, him looking over her shoulder happened more frequently, which made planning everything with him in the room almost impossible. Luckily with the help of some very bad people, being on the loose thanks to Chase, and Curtis next to her to help out whenever they were in the field, the party was arranged in no time and all she could hope for was that until they yell “surprise” he wouldn’t figure out what was going on.

The plan was in motion. Thea was in charge of setting up the decorations, Curtis was on ‘cake-pick-up’ duty and everyone else was helping to get all the final touches in place. All that was needed was the birthday boy and she hoped that her cryptic text wasn’t going to blow up in her face.

The tracker on his phone notified her he was heading their way. They put off the lights and kept quiet, listening to his footsteps as he headed for the front door. He opened the door stepping inside and just when they were ready with their “surprise” he spotted Curtis in the corner of his eye and put him down on the floor ready to punch the hell out of him.

He looked up at everyone standing around him and that’s when he saw the banner ‘ ** _Happy Birthday Oliver_** ’. He let Curtis go and she could swear she saw a bit of a blush on his cheeks when Quentin not so subtly made known that he told them a surprise party was a bad idea.

Everyone laughed it off and in a moment everything was forgotten and all anyone could concentrate on was the food and champagne.

Laughter and smiles was something they didn’t often get to see with this specific group of people. The change in pace was welcome as she looked around the room inspecting the people that have become her family, some old and some new, but they were her real family none the less.

She missed the face she really wanted to see in the room, but then she spotted him. He was standing out on the balcony. She always thought of the balcony as ‘ _their spot_ ’. Even when they were not together she went out there alone or to meet Oliver when he conveniently ‘ _forgot_ ’ the loft had a front door.

Familiar butterflies formed in her stomach the closer she got to the balcony. He was leaning over the railing, looking over the twinkling lights of the city. The memories of a simpler time flooded her mind, but things were different now. So much had happened between them.

“I’ve been looking for you.” she said stepping outside, but he kept his eyes fixed on the view in front of him. The corner of his mouth twitched up, giving a small smile at the sound of her voice.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, I just…I needed some air.” he answered, his voice low.

She stopped next to him, placing her hands on the railing. She looked out in front of him admiring the view, but trying to get her breathing under control. Ever since they got trapped in the bunker something shifted between them. Things between them were lighter, easy again like it was before and even though it was hard to fight their attraction since their little ‘slip up’, it was even harder to fight the sexual tension now.

“Was it too much too soon? I’m sorry I didn’t even think that it might have been too overwhelm…”

“No…it’s perfect.” he cut her off, looking at her for the first time since they were alone. The heat of his hand linked with hers immediately filled her whole body and she had to fight the urge to kiss him right then. “Thank you for this. I…this was so thoughtful and I lo…I really appreciate it.” he added as he looked at her, swallowing thickly for what she can only assume was almost a slip of the tongue. He didn’t keep her gaze for long when he turned and looked back over the city, but his hand remained linked to hers.

“So what’s up then? Is there something wrong?” she asked cautiously. She didn’t want to risk pushing him into telling her something that might push them back to a place where they were distant again.

“For almost a decade I either didn’t know when my birthday was or it just didn’t feel like celebrating, with the exception of course when we were on the road trip and you went out of your way with the sparkles and ice cream….” he chuckled shaking his head.

“Yeah, that was an interesting experience.” she laughed too, blush forming on her cheeks as she thought back to their time away.

“But even then…let’s just say that to me celebrating my birthday was celebrating my life and looking back at my life there was just nothing worth celebrating…I wasn’t worth celebrating.”

“Oliver…” she started, placing her hand on his arm, looking at him, getting herself ready for another pep talk, but he didn’t give her a chance.

“For ten years Felicity I have looked at myself in the mirror. I have looked at the man I am and every time I look at myself every scar, everything that I’ve done is reflected back at me in that mirror and that was a reflection of someone who didn’t deserve a birthday cake or candles or a song, it was the reflection of a damaged, broken man.”

He looked sad, but there was something different in the way he looked at her right now.

“I was so convinced after all these years that I wasn’t worthy and you were right, I kept on hanging on to the past, I kept on reverting back to who I was because I thought that I had to live up to my father’s legacy, I had to right his wrongs, but after everything that happened with my father recently, I realised you were right again…”

“Shocker.” she teased lightly bumping him with her shoulder and the sadness in his eyes changed into something lighter.

“I know I made mistakes, but I know that I can’t continue to hold on to a legacy that’s not mine. I have to be my own man and create a life where I can leave a legacy for William….and hopefully more children to come.”

“I promised you that I would never lie to you again and I know that right now might not be the right time to say anything, but I can’t keep this from you any longer. I’ve made mistakes Felicity and I can’t promise you that I will never make mistakes again, but I’m trying every day to make a choice to be me, to discover who **I** am….and who I want to be. Felicity I love you and that’s never changed. I tried moving on, I tried seeing where other paths would lead me but every path I’ve taken has led me right back to you.”

She sucked in a breath hearing the words. Her heart swelled with so much love and emotion she had for this man standing in front of her.

“I told you before that the way you make me feel is the best part of my life, Felicity and I meant it then and I mean it now. I don’t know where you are right now where we are concerned and I need you to know that me saying this is in no way pressuring you to act on it, but if I’m going to be honest with myself and honest with you I can’t keep running circles around my feelings for you….”

She leaned up and pressed her lips against his, swallowing whatever words were supposed to come next. It was gentle at first, but after almost a year of ignoring what was between them, he responded immediately and he deepened the kiss. His tongue begging for entrance and she opened up for him in an instant. She draped her arms around his neck and in kind he pulled her closer to him wrapping his arms around her waist. Their closeness and tasting each other after so long just fuelled the fire that’s been simmering inside of them, but she knew they were not alone and even though she would love nothing more than to get lost in each other right now, they had to stop.

She slowed the kiss, and he understood exactly where she was going. He pecked her lips a few times and ended with their lips lingering, breathing the same air as they tried to find their footing back to reality.

“I love you too.” she whispered, looking up into his eyes opening slowly after hearing the words.

Curtis was right. Even after everything they’ve gone through one thing hasn’t changed and that was the way that he looked at her. His eyes were flooded with so much love and even though she knew there were going to be challenges in their future, she wanted him to look at her like that for the rest of her life.

“What do you say you get these people out of here then, so I can ravage you.” he said with a smirk on his face.

She immediately left their cocoon and stepped inside the loft.

“Okay everyone!” she announced, “thank you for coming, but this party is over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading  
> Would love to hear what you think xxx


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